Consumer brands preference study

Drug Store News, Dec 11, 1989 by Susan Ball

CONSUMER BRANDS PREFERENCE STUDY

Out of the mouths of consumers come eloquent expressions of basic marketing and retailing truths.

Consider some of the points implicit in the above consumers' comments: * Shoppers like Midge Dunne aren't willing to compromise if they've found something that works for them. As in the old cigarette slogan, they'd rather "fight" (by going to another store) than switch, especially in categories where product performance varies widely and results are readily apparent. * Price matters more where performance is generally standard among products in category. * A technological advantage or distinctive product benefit (such as water rinsability) creates a sales edge. * Name brands play a major role in purchasing decisions. Faced with a dizzying array of shampoos, Debbie Patton uses well-known brands as her compass. * Brands people grew up with influence their buying decisions, as Midge and Debbie illustrate. * Advertising and packaging build awareness, which shoppers use to guide them through category clutter. * Past experience plays an important role in product selection and brand loyalty, as Janet Kessenich recounted. * A good price on a name brand can tip the scales on initial use for consumers like Barbara Warren, who then stayed with the product based on its performance.

The above shoppers' comments echo the findings of Drug Store News' Brand Preference Study.

Key findings

The survey reveals brand preferences in 21 H&BA categories among 600 female consumers in six major markets across the country. It also probed consumers' reasons for their selections. Among the main findings: * A high percentage of respondents -- ranging from 71 percent in sun care to 95 percent in film -- said they have a brand preference in the categories studied, including four OTC, nine toiletry, five cosmetic/fragrance and three general merchandise categories. * Brand loyalty, gauged by percentage of consumers who said they would not switch if their brand was not in stock, was generally strong across all categories. The highest degree of brand loyalty -- 90 percent or better -- was in the hair color, eye/lens care, laxatives, nail treatments and men's fragrances categories. The lowest brand loyalty was found in toothpastes, deodorants, batteries, shampoos and cough/cold products. * Some categories were high in brand preference, but relatively low in brand loyalty: In OTCs, 88 percent of respondents said they had a regular cough/cold brand, but 39 percent said they would shift if it were out of stock, rather than wait until it came in or go to another store to find it. In general merchandise, while 80 percent had a battery brand preference, 43 percent would switch. In toiletries, 94 percent had a regular brand of toothpaste, but 55 percent would switch. Brand loyalty was relatively high for all five cosmetics/fragrance categories studied. * Across all categories, product attributes -- such as Brand I Trust, Habit, Good Past Experience, I Like It (smell, taste, package) -- dominated the reasons that consumers with a regular brand said they last bought the product. Benefits -- product qualities more closely related to performance, such as Cleans Hair -- were the second most important reasons among regular-brand users. * As one would expect, price mattered much more to brand switchers and consumers who didn't have a regular brand than to regular-brand users. Surprisingly, although advertising/displays played more of a role for brand switchers and those with no regular brand, the percentage of respondents who mentioned these influences was generally low, usually in the 10-17 percent range. * Based on respondents' input, the survey reveals the top three brands in each of the 21 categories studied. In a separate, smaller survey of 120 store managers in the same six markets, managers also listed what they consider the leading brands in each category, and there is generally agreement on the three top brands per category, with some interesting exceptions.

Manufacturer efforts key

A world of manufacturers' R&D, marketing and other efforts goes into eliciting a simple utterance such as "I like it" from a consumer to explain a brand preference.

One marketer for a major packaged goods company said it involves targeting consumers with a holistic marketing plan that includes such components as advertising, promotions, packaging, product supply, the product itself, pricing, shelf-management strategy, display vehicles, sizing, formula and in-use characteristics (lather buildup, fliptop caps and the like).

Building brand loyalty is a vital -- and complex -- part of H&BA manufacturers' objectives.

"We develop brand loyalty by consistent advertising," said John Byers, senior vp-executive director of trade development for Maybelline. "When you're out there all the time, in TV, radio and print, you develop brand loyalty at a higher level, among new as well as long-time users.

"Other factors are product quality and packaging. We stress good products and rigid quality-control standards. The product has to answer the consumer's needs, and if it does that, it will lead to other Maybelline purchases. The bottom line of this whole thing is quality products that people can afford."